According to surveys, most people today are living without real meaning and purpose. They attempt to fill this need for meaning with money, pleasure or popularity.
Even those who achieve success find life hollow. Although Madonna achieved superstar status, she confessed, “There were many years when I thought fame, fortune, and public approval would bring me happiness. But one day you wake up and realize they don’t.”1
So, what is the answer to our need for meaning and purpose? If it isn’t in fame, fortune or success, what is it?
Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ said we were created for a relationship with God, and he claimed to be the only one who can give our lives true meaning and eternal life (John 14:6; John 10:10). But are Jesus’ words relevant today? To find out, let’s look at what he said about life’s most important questions:
- “Who am I?”
- “Why am I here?”
- “Where am I going after I die?”
So, what did he say about God, about us, and about where we go after this life ends?
What Did Jesus Say About God?
God Is Relational
Most so-called “gods” of other religions are impersonal. The God of whom Jesus spoke is not like the impersonal Force in Star Wars. Neither is he some great unsympathetic bogeyman in the sky, delighting in making our lives miserable.
On the contrary, Jesus taught that God is relational like us, but even more so. He thinks. He hears. He communicates in language we can understand. Jesus told us and showed us what God is like. According to Jesus, God knows each of us intimately and personally, and thinks about us continually. Let’s look at other things Jesus told us about God.
God Is Loving
Jesus told us that God loves us unconditionally. He taught that God’s love is radically different from ours in that it is not based upon attraction or performance. It is totally sacrificial and unselfish. That means God loves everyone the same regardless of race, sex, social status, financial success, or intelligence. Jesus demonstrated God’s love wherever he went, healing the sick and reaching out to the hurting and poor.
Jesus compared God’s love with the love of a perfect father. A good father wants the best for his children, sacrifices for them, and provides for them. But in their best interests, he also disciplines them.
Jesus illustrates God’s heart of love with a story about a rebellious son who rejected his father’s advice about life and what is important. Arrogant and self-willed, the son wanted to quit working and “live it up.” Rather than waiting until his father was ready to give him his inheritance, he began insisting that his father give it to him early.
In Jesus’ story, the father granted his son’s request. But things went very badly for the son. After wasting all his money on sinful living and self-indulgence, the rebellious son became desperate and was so hungry he began working on a pig farm and even eating the pig’s food. Finally, unsure whether his father would accept him back, he took a chance, packed his bag and headed home. He was willing to accept the scorn and even rejection of his father.
While many earthly fathers would be angry and scold their son, Jesus tells us that God’s love isn’t like that. In Jesus’ story, not only did the father welcome him home, but he even ran out to meet him. The repentant son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).
Then, in an amazing act of love and mercy, the father embraced his son and gave him the best family robe to wear and placed a ring on his finger to confirm his love and acceptance. Afterwards he celebrated his son’s return home with a family feast, honoring his son’s return home.
It is noteworthy that even though the father greatly loved his son, he didn’t chase after him. He let the son he loved feel pain and suffer the consequences of his rebellious choice. In a similar way, the Scriptures teach that God’s love will never compromise what is best for us. It will allow us to suffer the consequences of our own wrong choices and rebellion. However, like the father in Jesus’ story, God will always welcome us back if we are willing to return in humility.
God’s unconditional love is best expressed in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus also taught that God will never compromise his character. Character is who we are down deep. It is our essence from which all our thoughts and actions stem. So, what is God’s character like—down deep?
God Is Holy
Throughout the Scriptures (nearly 600 times), God is spoken of as “holy.” Holy means that God’s character is morally pure and perfect in every way. Unblemished. This means that God never entertains a thought that is impure or inconsistent with his moral excellence.
God’s holiness means that evil cannot exist in his presence. Since evil is the opposite of his nature, He hates it. It’s like pollution to him.
But if God is holy and abhors evil, why didn’t he make our character like his? Why are there child molesters, murderers, rapists, and perverts? And why do we struggle so with our own moral choices? That brings us to the next part of our quest for meaning. What did Jesus say about us?
What Did Jesus Say About Us?
Made For a Relationship with God
If you were to read through the New Testament you would discover that Jesus continually speaks of our immense value to God, telling us that God created us to be his special children.
God’s Word tells us that before the universe was created, God planned to create us and adopt us into his family. (Ephesians 1:1-7) Not only did he plan to adopt his children, but he has an incredible inheritance for them. Like the father’s heart in Jesus’ story about the prodigal son, God wants to lavish on us an inheritance of blessing and royal privilege. In his eyes, we are beloved.
Freedom To Choose
God could have made us like robots, programmed to love and obey him by a set of algorithms. But real love needs to be a free choice. To make freely exchanged love possible, God created human beings with a unique capacity: free will. Freedom to choose allows us to love and obey God, but it also allows us to reject God’s love and rebel against him.
Rebellion Against God’s Moral Laws
Former skeptic C.S. Lewis reasoned that although we are internally programmed with a desire to know God, we rebel against it from the moment we are born.2 Lewis also began to examine his own motives, which led him to the discovery that he instinctively knew right from wrong.
We all experience this sense of right and wrong when we read of Hitler killing six million Jews, or a hero sacrificing his or her life for someone. We instinctively know it is wrong to lie and cheat. Lewis wondered where this sense of right and wrong came from. This recognition that we are programmed with an inner moral law led the former atheist to the conclusion there must be a moral “Lawgiver.”
Indeed, according to both Jesus and the Scriptures, God has given us a moral law to obey. And not only have we turned our backs on a relationship with him, we also have broken these moral laws that God established. Most of us know some of The Ten Commandments: “Don’t lie, steal, murder, commit adultery,” etc. Jesus summarized them by saying we should love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Sin, therefore, is not only the wrong that we do in breaking the law, but also our failure to do what is right.
The result is that our sins have broken God’s intended relationship with us. The result of this rebellion against God has led to a world plagued by greed, hatred, war, rape and rampant crime.
Our Sins Have Separated Us from God’s Love
Although God loves us beyond comprehension, our rebellion (sin) has created a wall of separation between him and us (see Isaiah 59:2). In the Scriptures, “separation” means spiritual death. And spiritual death means being completely separated from the light and life of God.
“But wait a minute,” you might say. “Didn’t God know all of that before he made us? Why didn’t he see that his plan was doomed for failure?”
Of course, an all-knowing God would realize that we would rebel and sin. In fact, it is our failure that makes his plan so marvelous and mind-blowing. This brings us to the reason that God came to Earth in human form. And even more incredible—the remarkable reason for Jesus’ death on the cross.
What Did Jesus Say About Himself?
God’s Perfect Solution
During his three years of public ministry, Jesus taught us how to live in accordance with God’s will. He also performed many miracles, even raising the dead. But he stated that his primary mission was to save us from our sins. He told his followers, “The son of man came to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Jesus claimed to be the promised Messiah who would take our iniquity upon himself. The prophet Isaiah had written about the Messiah 700 years earlier, giving us several clues regarding his identity. But the clue most difficult to grasp is that the Messiah would be both man and God! Isaiah wrote,
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And his name shall be called…Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
The ancient prophets had foretold that the Messiah would become God’s perfect sin offering, satisfying his justice. This perfect man would qualify to die for us (Isaiah 53:6). According to the New Testament authors, the only reason Jesus was qualified to die for the rest of us is because, as God, he lived a morally perfect life and wasn’t subject to sin’s judgment.
It’s difficult to understand how Jesus’ death paid for our sins. Perhaps a judicial analogy might clarify how Jesus solves the dilemma of reconciling God’s perfect love and justice.
Imagine entering a courtroom, guilty of murder. As you approach the bench, you realize that the judge is your father. Knowing that he loves you, you immediately begin to plead, “Dad, just let me go!”
To which he responds, “I love you, son, but I’m a judge. I can’t simply let you go.”
Being both your father and your judge, he is torn. After he tearfully considers both roles, he bangs the gavel down and declares you guilty. Justice cannot be compromised, at least not by a judge. But because he loves you, he steps down from the bench, takes off the robe, and offers to pay the penalty for you. And in fact, he takes your place in the electric chair.
This is the picture painted by the New Testament. God stepped down into human history, in the person of Jesus Christ, died on the cross instead of us, for us. Jesus is not a third-party whipping boy, taking our sins, but rather he is God himself. Put more bluntly, God had two choices: to judge sin in us or to assume the punishment himself. In Christ, he chose the latter.
In other words, God’s perfect justice is completely satisfied by the death of his Son, Jesus Christ. All our sins—no matter how bad they are or have been—are completely paid for by the blood of Christ. As the apostle Paul explains to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Many wonder, why is Jesus alone able to save us from our sins? Aren’t there others qualified to save us? Although there have been many people and prophets who have lived comparatively good lives. The New Testament tells us, “Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is qualified to save us” (John 14:6; Acts 4:12 NCV).
A Gift Undeserved
The biblical term to describe God’s free forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death is grace. Whereas mercy saves us from what we deserve, the grace of God also gives us what we don’t deserve. Let’s review for a minute how Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves:
- God loves us and created us for a relationship with himself.3
- We have the freedom to accept or reject that relationship.4
- Our sin and rebellion against God have created a wall of separation between us and him.5
- God has paid our debt in full by Jesus’ death in our place, making eternal life with him possible.6
We now have the picture of God’s plan of the ages coming together, and the reason we were created. But there still is one missing ingredient. According to Jesus and the authors of the New Testament, each of us must respond to Jesus’ offer of forgiveness for our sins. It’s a free gift—he won’t force us to take it.
You Choose the Ending
We continually make choices—what to wear, what to eat, our career, marriage partner, etc. It is the same when it comes to a relationship with God. We can choose to accept Jesus, ignore him or reject him.
Our choices are often influenced by others. But in some instances, we are given the wrong advice. On September 11, 2001, 600 innocent people put their trust in the wrong advice and innocently suffered the consequences. The true story goes like this:
One man who was on the 92nd floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center had just heard a jet crashing into the north tower. Stunned by the explosion, he called the police for instructions on what to do. “We need to know if we need to get out of here, because we know there’s an explosion,” he said urgently on the phone.
The voice on the other end advised him not to evacuate. “I would wait ’til further notice.”
“All right, he replied.” He told others around him, “Don’t evacuate.” He then hung up.
Shortly after 9:00 A.M., another jet crashed into the 80th floor of the south tower. Nearly all 600 people in the top floors of the south tower perished. The failure to evacuate the building was one of the day’s great tragedies.7
Those 600 people perished because they relied on the wrong information, even though it was given by a person who was trying to help. The tragedy would not have occurred had the 600 victims been given the right information.
Our conscious choice about Jesus is infinitely more important than the one that faced the ill-informed 9/11 victims. Eternity is at stake. We can choose one of three different responses. We can ignore Jesus. We can reject Jesus. Or we can accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness.
The reason many people go through life ignoring God is that they are too busy pushing their own agenda. Chuck Colson was like that. At age 39, Colson occupied the office next to the president of the United States. He was the “tough guy” of the Nixon White House, called “the hatchet man,” who could make the hard decisions. Yet, the Watergate scandal ruined his reputation and his world became unglued. Later he writes:
I had been concerned with myself. I had achieved, I had succeeded, and I had given God none of the credit, never once thanking Him for any of His gifts to me. I had never thought of anything being ‘immeasurably superior’ to myself, or if I had in fleeting moments thought about the infinite power of God, I had not related Him to my life.8
Many can identify with Colson. It’s easy to get caught in the fast pace of life and have little or no time for God. Yet ignoring God’s gracious offer of forgiveness has the same dire consequences as outright rejection. Whether we ignore Jesus or outright reject him, our sin debt would remain unpaid.
The main reason most people reject Christ is because they don’t want him interfering with their moral choices. The desire for moral freedom kept C. S. Lewis from God for most of his college years. After his quest for truth led him to God, Lewis explains how acceptance of Christ involves more than just intellectual agreement with the facts. He writes:
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again…is what Christians call repentance.9
Repentance means a dramatic turn-around in thinking. Colson recalls when he repented of his sin and received Jesus as his personal savior and Lord:
I knew the time had come for me. …Was I to accept without reservations Jesus Christ as Lord of my life? It was like a gate before me. There was no way to walk around it. I would step through, or I would remain outside. A ‘maybe’ or ‘I need more time’ was kidding myself.
After an inner struggle, this former aide to the president of the United States finally realized that Jesus Christ was deserving of his full allegiance. He writes:
And so early Friday morning, while I sat alone staring at the sea I love, words I had not been certain I could understand or say fell naturally from my lips: ‘Lord Jesus, I believe You. I accept You. Please come into my life. I commit it to You.’10
Colson discovered that his questions, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” are all answered in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for” (Ephesians 1:11, The Message).
Because Jesus’ death satisfied God’s wrath against us, we no longer are under the penalty of sin. Paul states this clearly to the Colossians when he writes,
You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault (Colossians 1:21b-22a NLT).
Are you at the point in your life where you would like to accept God’s free offer? The choice is yours.
Forgiveness of sin, purpose in life, and eternal life are all yours for the asking. You can invite Christ into your life right now through prayer. Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as he is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
“Dear God, I want to know you personally and live eternally with you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life and change me, making me the kind of person you want me to be.”
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, simply pray the above suggested prayer in your own native language.
If you sincerely invited Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord, he entered your life, becoming your guide, your counselor, your comforter, and your best friend. Furthermore, his indwelling Holy Spirit gives you strength to overcome trials and temptation, freeing you to experience a new life full of meaning, purpose, and power.